9.6 Billion People by 2050

Population growth, rapid urbanization and increasing transnational flows of commodities, people and animals intensify the risk of infectious transmission across geographies while equally diminishing the ability to respond – all at a time of growing resistance of microorganisms to today’s most effective medicines.

60% of Global Population Middle Class by 2030

This expansion continues. The size of the “global middle class” will increase from 1.8 billion in 2009 to 3.2 billion by 2020 and 4.9 billion by 2030. The bulk of this growth will come from Asia: by 2030 Asia will represent 66 percent of the global middle-class population and 59 percent of middle-class consumption, compared to 28 percent and 23 percent, respectively in 2009, according to the figure below.

40% to 60% Increase in Energy Demand by 2050

There is a growing acknowledgement that adaptation to new resilience challenges (cyber threats, extreme weather risks and the energy-water nexus) will require attention and funding, while smart innovation and regional interconnection are also being recognized as being key parts of the solution.

Global Conflict and Security

The world of 2030 will be radically transformed from our world today. By 2030, no country—whether the US, China, or any other large country—will be a hegemonic power.

...In addition to individual empowerment and the diffusion of state power, we believe that two other megatrends will shape our world out to 2030: demographic patterns, especially rapid aging; and growing resource demands which, in the cases of food and water, might lead to scarcities. These trends, which are virtually certain, exist today, but during the next 15-20 years they will gain much greater momentum.